BTA bank to clear its debt

BTA, Kazakhstan’s third-largest bank by assets, is set to wipe out around 70 per cent of its $11bn (£6.8bn) debt after creditors voted to accept a second restructuring deal in as many years.

In the last major hurdle to approval, claimants holding a cumulative $10.2bn of the bank’s debt voted yesterday in favour of a deal which enraged some creditors when first proposed and will see the country’s sovereign wealth fund increase its equity stake to more than 97 per cent. The deal, expected to be completed by year-end, will cut BTA’s outstanding liabilities to approximately $3.3bn from $10.9bn.